Display printing machine



July 21, 1942. R. s. REID 2,290,333

DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE I Filed April' 29, ess a SheetsSheet 1 Filed April 29, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 71AM warm .July 21, 1942. R. s. REID 2,290,383

DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 29; 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 FasweZZ ,SZFez'd m wag wfim wmm I I emw July 21,1942. R, 5, ED 7 2,290,383

DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Paar/ell 5.3622 :1

July 21, 1942. R. s. REID 2,290,383

I DISBLAY PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 BaszreZZ 5.296521 m, wcazmm ,Qwmwum July 21, 1942'. '5, 2,290,383

, DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1938 a Sheets-Shee t e July 21, 1942. R. s. REID 2,290,383

DISPLAY PRINTING mcnmn Filed April 29, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 7 July 21, v R. s. REID v 2,2905383 DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1938' a Sheets-Sheet a tantly spaced from each other.

Patented July 21, 1942 UNITED STATES .l

DISPLAY PRINTING MACHINE Roswell S. Reid, Morgantown, W. Va., assignor to West Virginia Newspaper Publishing Company, Morgantown, .W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia 16 Claims.

The present invention relates to printing machines and more particularly to a printing machine which is designed and constructed in such manner as to have the capacity to print, upon a web of paper, words and lines comprising assembled letters of relatively large size, varying for I instance from 18 point letters to 60 point letters. Primarily the machine is intended to comprise one of several units by means of which newspapers, magazines, books, periodicals, ad-

,verti'sing folders and the like, may be printed without the necessity of casting or setting type.

As is well-known, the individual letters of a font of printers type vary in width and in the completed printed line the letters are equidis- On the other hand the usual typewriter embodies type faces of uniform width so that the appearance of a completed typewritten line is substantially different from the appearance of a completed printed line.

It has heretofore been proposed, however, that by the addition of a variable spacing mechanism to a typewriter, and providing the typewriter with type the faces of which differ in width as do the printers type, the product of the typewriter may be caused to resemble very closely the product of a printing operation. It has, however, not been found heretofore to be possible to modify the usual typewriter by the addition of variable-spacing mechanism to produce the effect of printed lines where very large type faces are to be employed.

The principal purpose of the present invention is to provide a printing machine, generally analogous to the variable spacing typewriter, by means of which printed lines and words the individual letters of which are of large size, may be rapidly and conveniently produced, the individual letters of the words being spaced apart as though actually printed with printers type so that the completed product is indistinguishable from the product of the printing press. The novel machine includes a paper carriage in which the paper to be printed is guided for movement in a predetermined plane, a movable type carrying member which is so designed and so mounted that any desired letter may be brought into printing position with respect to the paper, and upon one side of the paper, and a printing head upon the opposite side of the paper which serves, when actuated, to press the paper against the previously inked letter and to be thereafter retracted to enable the paper to draw away from the type.

The actual printing operation is performed in a novel manner, the printing head being of such character as to be movable in a plane parallel to the plane of the paper during printing operation, the actual paper-engaging surface of the printing head rolling over one surface of the paper to insure perfect contact of the area of the surface to be printed with all areas of the ink carrying type and as a result of this more perfected printing of large characters than has heretofore been possible is realized.

The apparatus is motor driven and key controlled, the depression of a key effecting the connection of the printing mechanism to a constantly running motor whereby the printing mechanism is moved through one complete cycle of operations, the connection to the constantly running motor being automatically broken at the completion of such cycle of operations. The mechanism embodies many novel features of construction which will 'be hereinafter described in detail. A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings but it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous variations in the details of the elements and subcombinations of elements may be effected in adapting the invention for special purposes and that that form thereof which is illustrated, and which is to be hereinafter described, is set forth by way of example only.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the machine, the housing having been removed;

Figure 2 is a side view of the machine partially in elevation and partially in section;

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 3, showing the edges of the character selectionv track and cooperating members, the selection cog wheel and selection pawl arm mounted therebetween;

Figure 6 is an elevation taken on line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a section on line 'l--| of Figure 2;

Figure 11 is a partial section on line II-II of Figure Figure 12 is an elevation of portions of the mechanism shown in Figure 10, as seen from the line I2I2 of that figure;

'Figure 13 is a plan view on enlarged scale and partially broken away, of the printing head assembly;

Figure 14 is a section on line I4-I4 of Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a section taken on line I5I5 of Figure 14;

Figure 16 is a section on line I 5-!6 of Figure 2;

Figures 17 and 18 are details of portions of the disc locking mechanism;

Figures 19, 20 and 21 are elevations showing the positions of the gears at, respectively, the beginning of a cycle, the beginning of the printing portion, or second third, of acycle, and the beginning of the repositioning, or last third, of a cycle, portions A showing the character selection gears, portions B the gears which operate the printing head assembly, and portions C the repositioning mechanism operating gears;

Figure 22 is a sectional view through portions of the carriage and its slide controlling members;

Figure 23 is a horizontal section showing the carriage pinions and their key connection shift;

Figure 24 is an elevation of a portion of the type disc and the shield therefor;

Figure 25 shows in side elevation an operating key and the key locking mechanism;

Figure 26 is a detail of the spacing disc shifting cam;

Figure 27 is a detailed elevation of a portion of the character selector pin releasing mechanism;

Figure 28 is a series of detailed elevations of a portion of each of the supports of the keys .frame 30. A single revolution 'clutch 34, of a well-known type, connects the shaft 33 with the shaft 35 so that when the motor 3! is in continuous operation the clutch 34 may be operated to impart one revolution to the shaft 35. This will cause the machine as a whole to complete one cycle, that is, print one character of type and return to a normal position in readiness for another cycle of operation to print another character. i

A suitably constructed typewriter keyboard 35 bearing any desired number of keys 31 is mounted at the front of the machine for easy manual operation. Each of the keys 31 is pivotally connected to a bell crank lever 38 which is pivotally mounted on the frame and which is normally held in the position shown by a tension spring 33. Each of the bell crank levers 38 is pivotally secured to one end of a rod 39", the other end of which is pivotally securedto one arm of an associated bell crank lever 39, levers 39 being pivotally attached to the frame 30 as at 40. The other arm of each lever 39 is pivotally connected to a vertical link H which, through another lever or bell crank 42, pivotall secured as at 43 to a stationary disc 44, causes one of a series of blocks 45 to move forwardly away from its normal position, blocks 45 being shown in normal positions in Figure 2. The several levers or bell cranks 42 are so shaped that the pins which connect them to the blocks 45 are all horizontally disposed. It will be seen from the drawings that each of the keys 31 is independently connected with one of the blocks 45 and through the above described lever system a definite block 45 is moved out, or to the left in Figure 2, as a dennite key 31 is depressed.

The single revolution clutch 34 is held in the open position shown in Figure 2 by a sear I21,

on a cam I29, contacting a bell crank trigger I29 which is pivoted to the frame 30 at I30. Each of the levers 39 carries a boss I3I, any one of which when moved by the depression of any key 31 moves a crossbar I32 which, through a lever I33, pivoted to the frame 30, a link I34, a bell crank [35, pivoted to the frame 30, and a vertical link I35 moves the trigger I29 out of engagement with the sear I21. This permits a compression spring I31 to close the clutch 34 permitting the continuously running motor 3I to drive the main shaft 35. The shaft 35 is thereby turned through 360 degrees being there stopped by the action of the trigger I29 on thecam I28 to again throw the clutch 34 out of engagement. A compression spring I32, mounted between the crossbar I32 and any stationary part of the machine, urges this bar I32 and the lever system connected thereto back to the normal position when displaced therefrom.

. In order that a. depressed key (see Figure 25) may remain depressed long enough and yet not too long, another boss 39' on the lever 39 and another crossbar 39I are provided for holding the key which is depressed for a definite length of time. This is accomplished by mechanism, which will be described later, for raising the bar 39I to the position shown in solid lines in Figure 25 as soon as the boss 39 has crossed to the rear of said bar 39I. The raising of the bar 39I also serves to prevent a second key from being depressed during the following interval.

The stationary disc 44 bears on the upper 180 degrees of its periphery a plurality of keyways 45 in which the blocks 45 are slidably mounted, there being one block for each of the keys 31 of the keyboard. These blocks 45 are so arranged that, when they are all in position, they form a continuous half-cylindrical surface which approximates a smooth surface.

On an axis passing through the center of ourvature of the substantially continuous surface formed by the blocks 45 there is rotatably mounted a selection pawl arm 41 and a selection cog wheel 48. The selection pawl arm 41 is keyed as at 49 to a shaft 55, while the selection cog wheel 48 is rotatably mounted on the same shaft. The selection pawl arm 41 is rotated, when the shaft 35 is rotated, at the b ginning of a cycle, for the first one-third of the cycle, by means of a gear train consisting of a degree segment gear 5| engaging gear 52 which through a shaft 53 rotates a gear 54 which engages a pinion 55 which is secured to the shaft 50 upon which said arm 41 is mounted. This gear ratio is such that 120 degrees of revolution of the gear 5| turns the pawl arm 41 through degrees. The portions 14" of Figures 19, 20 and 21 show, respectively, the positions of the above mentioned gears, at the beginning of a cycle, during the first onethird of a cycle and at the end of 120 degrees 2,290,388 i 3 of rotation of the main shaft 35 or of the gear 5!. It will be noted from Figure 4 that the selector pawl arm 41 is symmetrical and carries identical members at each-end, thus requiring a- 1 revolution of only 180 degrees per cycle of the machine as a whole, to place it in the proper position for the beginning of the next cycle.

-When any one key is depressed, since one of the blocks 45 is moved, an opening. such as is an opening exists, when the pawl arm 4'! is being 7 rotated. This movement of the pawl 5! permits a dog 58, mounted opposite thereto, to engage the selection cog wheel t8. After this engagement the pawl arm t1, through dog 58 drives the cog wheel 58 through the remaining portion (see Figure of the 180 degree angle which the pawl arm d! rotates during the first one-third of each cycle. The cog'wh'eel' t3, which is rotatably mounted with respect to theshaft 59, has a gear 55 coaxially mounted and secured thereto by means of a bolt 60. A pinion 6i engages the gear 59 and through a shaft 62 home by the frame a type disc 63 is rotated. The selection cog as is geared to the type disc in a 2:1 ratio, so that when the selector arm A? is turning thr u h an angle o the type disc is turning.

through the angle 2 to bring the character of the key which was depressed into the printing position. maybe mounted in concentric circles on the type disc face. One font forms one circle and any character thereof may be brought into a given position by the energy supplied through the pawl arm 61 as previously described, the possibility of a complete revolution of the type disc 63 dependscribed first one-third of a cycle the printing mechanism begins to operate, the printing operation being completed within the second onethird of the cycle. A second 120 degree segment bevel gear 6 secured to the shaft supplies the energy for this portion of the cycle. "B" of Figures 19,20 and 21 show the relative positions of the segment gear 64, respectively, at

' the beginning of a cycle, at the beginning of the printing operationand at the completion thereo'f, with respect to a bevel gear 65 the location The gear 65 is secured to the lower end of a vertical shaft 55 which is supported by the frame of the machine and carries on its upper portion a plurality of identical cams 81, 6B and ts. The

gear ratio between the segment gear 86 and the bevel gear at is 3:1, thus causing the cam 67, '88 and 89 to make a complete revolution during the second one-third of a cycle. At the eleva...

-tions of said three cams 61, BB and 89, slide bars 10, H and ,72 are mounted for both a forward] One or more fonts of characters 63'.

Portions these slide barsbeing longitudinally slidable with respect thereto. Each of the-hollow guide members l3 ispivoted 'on the vertical axis 14 [permitting vthe slide bars 10, II and 'l lto be moved in their respective horizontal planes .1 Archer 15 is mounted on the rear end of each. of the slide bars 10, Hand -12, each of the rollers 15 contacting the respective cams 61, G8 and 69. The forward, ends oftheslide bars III, II andfl2- each have a printing head 16, and Id-respectively,

pivotally mounted thereon whichmay be faced with any desirable cushioning material 19. Small tension springs connect the forward portions of each of the printing heads 15-, TI and 18 with the respective slide bars 70, ll and 12 giving the printing heads an urge to return to'the normal position when not'being moved and at the same time providing a parac-entric action so that any proportioned to the width of the widest character of the font which is printed by the respective printing heads I6, I1 and 18. The cam 61 first furnishes forward motion to the printing head 16 and holds it forward for a time duringwhich the cam 85, through a roller supported by the guide members 13. imparts a lateral component to the printing heads 78,17 and 78 and their supporting members, causing the printing head which is in use to roll across the face of a character on the .disc 63. This lateral motion is op-' posed by a compression spring 81, secured to the machine frame, which serves to preserve contact between the roller 86 and the cam 88. Small tension springs, such as 86, connected between" the slide bars 10, II and I2 and the guide members 13 preserve contact between the cams 61,

68 and 88 and the rollers "I5.

It will thus be seen that during this second onethird of a cycle the printing head It, or whichever one of the others is in use, will be forced against paper 89 with a forward motion derived from the cam 6.1 and then a rolling motion derived from the cam 85, pressing the paper 89 against. the character on the printingdisc 53 which was placed in the printing position in the first one-third of the cycle.

It is now necessary to space the copy by the width of the character just printed, possibly to index the-copy for the next line of print, and to I return all moving parts to such positions as are necessary to be in readiness for another cycle.

This spacing and repositioning is accomplished during the last one-third of the cycle. of which in the machine is best seen in Figure 2. v

A cam 90, see Figures 2 and 16, secured to the main shaft 35 near its forward end, revolving 360 degrees per cycle of the machine, is so shaped as to push a slide bar 9| downwardly'at the beginning of the printing operatiomi. e., 'the'second third of the cycle, and to release it at the completion of this operation. A lever 92, pivoted to the a \frame 80 as at 93, see Figure 1'7, is'pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of the slide bar 9i and has its other end bifurcated and in contact with the underside of a flange on a vertically movable rod '94, so shaped as to clamp the printing (118068 when movedupwardly. A compression spring mounted between the frame 30 75 and the lower end of the rod W this rod 9! out of contact with the printing disc 68 and keeps the slide bar 9| in contact with the cam 90. This clamping action on the printing disc 63 obviates any danger of the character being inadvertently moved during the printing operation. A second hump on the cam 90 also causes the disc to be locked during the stop between cycles,

Immediately in front of the disc clamping cam 90 a cam I55 is secured to the shaft 85. The purpose of this is to raise the pawl 51 back to the surface of the blocks 45 at the beginning of the printing third of the cycle of the machine and to disengage it from the selection cog wheel 40 so that it will arrive at the other side of the ma--. chine correctly positioned for operation in the next cycle. This is accomplished by means of a slide bar I56 which rides on the surface of the cam I55 and which through an arm I51, a shaft I58, rotatably mounted in the frame 30, and a second arm I59 slides a plunger I60 from a retracted position where it picks up the pawl 51 at the end of the first third of a cycle to the po- 'sition shown in Figure '1. The cam I55 is so shaped that the plunger I60 is retracted just after the beginning of a cycle when the pawl 51 x has moved beyond the surface of this plunger I60,

thus remaining in readiness to receive the next wheel as and the'type one a: back to their starting positions in readiness for the next cycle. The spacing of the copy is accomplished after the printing operation and during the repositioning operation.

In order to vary the spacing of the copy in accordance with the various widths of the 'characters used on the printing disc 63, a spacing disc 96 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 91 which is longitudinally slidably mounted in the frame 30. The spacing disc 06 has a groove cut in its beingthe same as that of the characters on the printing disc 62 and their depths being proportional to the widths of the various characters. A chain gear I02 is secured to the repositioning shaft vI0I and by means of a chain I08 is connected with a chain gear I04 which is secured to g the spacing disc 96.

used pawl 51 during the selecting or first onethird of the cycle.

The shaft I58 has another lever I62 secured thereto which is connected with the cross bar 39I in such a manner that, when the cam I55 retracts the plunger I60 as described above," the bar 89I is raised so as to hold the boss 39' which has been moved by a depressed key. It is so held until the end of the first one-third of the cycle.

A third 120 degree segment gear 99 is secured to the main shaft 35 which during a variable portion of the final third of the cycle, 1. e., the repo- Since the gear 59 is secured to the cog wheel 48 the'operation of the segment gear" on the segment gear I00 turns the cog wheel 48 in the opposite direction from its previous movement during the character selection operation, which movement was through the angle :9. It will be through the angle c that the segment gear I00 was at that time turned a proportionate amount from its initial position. The gear ratio is such that during the first one-third of the cycle the segment gear I00 is never turned through a greater angle than the 120 degree segment gear 99 is able to return it during the last one-third of the cycle; I 1

During the printing operation or second onethird of a cycle the segment gear I00 remains stationary as shown in parts "0 of Figures and 21, and the segment gear 99 comes to the position shown in Figure 21 0. During the repositioning operation or final one-third of a cycle the During the first third of the cycle the chain gear I02 and hence the spacing disc 96 are freely driven by the shaft IOI which is turned by the cog wheel 46 through the gear 59 and the pinion I06. The gear ratio from the type disc 63 to the spacing disc 96 is one-to-one and hence the proper groove 98, having a depth proportional to the width of the character placed in the printing position, is in the same position with respect to the frame 00 of the machineregardless of which of the keys 01 is depressed. At the opening of the groove which is in this position there is a pin I01 the function of which will be apparent fro'mthe following description.

A lever I08, pivotally mounted at I09, has one end bearing against a cam IIO which is secured to the shaft 84 and the other end I II bifurcated and' engaging the longitudinally slidable shaft 91. When the lever I08 is moved in opposition to a compression spring II2, the spacing disc 96 is shifted from the positionshown-by solid lines in Figures 11 and 12 "to that shown by broken lines, causing the groove 98 to come into the path of the pin I01. I

Immediately following the positioning 'of'the spacing disc 96, a cam II8, mounted beneath the gear 65 on the shaft 66, operates to cause a tooth II4 formed on a spacing release lever I'I5'to en- 'seen that when the cog wheel 48 was first turned gear 99 goes from the position shown in Figure 21 "C to that shown in Figure 19 C",moving the gear I00 back by the amount it was moved from its initial position, hence moving both the cog from the ratchet wheel II6.

one arm of a lever I2I the other arm of which gage a tooth on the periphery of a spacing ratchet wheel II6 thereby locking the ratchet wheel II6 against rotation. A small tension spring II1, connected between the lever H5 and the frame of the machine, keeps a roller II8 on the end of the lever spacing-release H5 in contact with the cam Ill. The lever H5 is pivoted, as at 8, to the frame 80 of the machine.

When the cam III permits the lever Hi to move, as Just described, a dog I20 is disengaged The dog I20 is on carries the pin I01. The lever I2I is pivoted to a lever I22 which is pivotaily mounted on the shaft I28 to which the ratchet wheel H6 is secured. A small tension spring I24 connected between the frame 80 of the machine and one arm of the lever I22, causes the levers I22 and I2I, upon the release of the dog I20, to move in the direction for the pin I01 to travelinto the groove 80. Each groove 88 is so curved that, when the spacing disc is so oriented that the groove being,

used is in the proper location, the center of it's curvature is at the axis I20. When the pin I01 reaches the end of the groove 96 theiever I2I is thereby moved to reengage the dog I20 in rod the ratchet wheel I I6, the dog I20 having skipped a number of teeth corresponding to the width of the character being printed. At this time the spacing disc 35 is released by the action of the cam IIO on the lever I08 which permits the compression spring II2 to move the spacing disc 96 back to the position shown by solid lines in Figure 12 again out of the plane of the pin I01. The spacing release lever then returns to the position shown in Figure 10, the tooth H4 releasing the ratchet wheel I I6 which revolves in a clockwise direction due to tension on a copy carriage I25. This turning of the ratchet wheel IE6 is terminated when the lever I22 secured thereto carrying the dog I hits a stop I26 on the frame 30. Thus the carriage is pennitted to travel a distance corresponding to the width of the character just printed.

Before the completion of the printing third of the cycle the printing head I6 is withdrawn from contact with the back of the copy 89 slightly before the end of the revolution of the cam 01. This is to permit the'cam II3 to release the ratchet wheel H6 only after the printing has been completed, but before the gear 65 ceases its operation with the end of the second third of the cycle.

- The copy carriage comprises a pair of vertical brackets I mounted on a plate I which is laterally slidably mounted on rollers held in a way I39 formed in the frame 30. The underside of the plate I38 carries a plurality of racks I60 across its length. For each of the racks I40 there is a pinion itl rotatably mounted on the ratchet wheel shaft I23, each of the pinions I'M having a keyway I 4|. Two pairs of copy'holding and indexing rollers I43 are rotatably mounted between the brackets I25, and are so located that the printing heads I6, TI and I8 will operate between them. Knurled handles ltd, mounted, on the extremities of two of the indexing roller shafts, provide means for moving the copy paper 89 up or down between the printing heads 38, IT and I8 and the disc 63. Guides M5 are provided to care for the ends of the copy 89 which protrude from the rollers I43. The plate I38 is connected to the ratchet wheel II3, through the racks I50, the pinions MI, and a key I52 secured on a longitudinally slidable rod I63 which is mounted on the shaft H3.

The keyways It! in the pinions IGI, shown in Figure 22, are so placed that they are in alignment when the copy carriage is at the extreme right position for the beginning of a line of printing. At this position the key M2 may be shifted to engagement with any one of the pinions MI by means of a lever I 41 which is pivoted to the frame 36 and has a bifurcated end which engages a grooved collar I 53 which is mounted on the shaft, I23 and is secured to the slidable key I36. This permits the key I52 to rotate with the shaft I23 and yet be shifted at any point Where the keyways Idi' are in line. -The outer end of the lever I t'lis provided with a handle and the frame 30 is notched as at IEI' so that the key IE2 will engage only one of the pinions I4I at a time.

A slip ratchet I6I of a well-known type is in Figure 10, to rotate clockwise is shown at I49 in Figure '7. Since the motion of the copy carriage per cycle must be dependent upon the size of the'font of type in use, for correct spacing, and since the relative motions of the plate I38 and th ratchet wheel II 6 must be so proportioned, the gear ratios between the pinions MI and the racks I 40 are such as to accommodate the proportional spacing between the several fonts. The change in this ratio is accomplished by shifting the longitudinal position of a key I42, to cause the proper one of the pinions I4I to drive the ratchet wheel H6 through the common shaft I23.

The type '63 on the face of the printing disc 63 is inked by means of well-known rollers, a large conical roller I50 wiping through an ink trough I5I and contacting two smaller conical/ rollers I52 so shaped as to roll on the face ofthe type 64 without slippage as the disc 63 is turned. A thin .metal baffle I53, secured to the frame 30, shown in Figures 2 and 24, protects the paper 89 from being soiled by the inked type 64. Apertures I54, cut in the baffle I53 opposite the printing heads I6, 1! and I8, permit the paper 89 to be pressed against the character which is in the printing position.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment illustrated and described herein without departin from' the scope of the invention as defined by the subioined claims. It will also be realized that the three phases of the cycle of operation described may each occupy a portion of the total time cycle of operation which is more or less than one-third of such cycle. This may readily be effected by changing the angular extent of the segmental gears El, 64 and 30 so that they are either more or less than the approximately 120 extent disclosed herein. So, it will be understood that whenever necessary or desirable, the duration of one or more of the phases of,the cycle may be increased or diminishedwith respect to the other phases, provided the selecting phase and the restoring phase do not overlap. Accordingly,

' within the broader aspects of the invention it is mounted in the shaft I23 so that the copy carunderstood that'wherever one-third of a cycle is mentioned in the present application, it is meant only in a descriptive sense and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a printing machine a fixed'member carrying a plurality of slidable blocks which form a substantially smooth surface, keyboard controlled means for moving one of the blocks to leave a space in said surface, a member mounted for movement along a path against said surface, through any space left in said surface by the displacement of a selected one of said blocks. and along a further path of movement thereafter, means for moving said member a predetermined distance along said combined paths, means for biasing said member toward said surface during I 2. In a printing machine a fixed member carrying a plurality of slidable blocks which form a substantially smooth surface, keyboard controlled means for moving one of the blocks to leave a space in said surface, a member mounted for movement along a path against said surface, through any space left in said surface by the displacement of a selected one of said blocks, and along a further path of movement upon the opposite side of said blocks in the same general direction, means for moving said member a predetermined distance along said combined paths, means for biasing said member toward said surface during its movement along said first path, means controlled by said member during its movement along one of said paths for automatically selecting a character of type and moving the selected character to a predetermined location preparatory to.

printing, the particular character selected depending upon the relative lengths of the two paths of movement of said member, which is determined by the particular block selected for displacement, and means for automatically restoring the member to the original surface of the blocks after it has completed its predetermined total movement over and under all of the blocks.

3. In a printing machine of the class described, adapted to operate in a three-phase cycle upon the depression of a key, to first select and positiona type character for impression, next to print the character, and then to restore the machine to its original condition for a subsequent cycle, in combination, a character selecting and positioning mechanism comprising a selecting element, means for moving said element a deflnite' predetermined distance and along a definite path of movement unless diverted, during the first phase of said cycle, keyboard actuated" switching means operable to selectively divertsaid member from said path at any one of a number of ,points to follow a second path for the remainder of said predetermined distance, means controlled by said element during its movement along one of the paths traversed thereby for automatically selecting a character of type and moving the selected character to a predetermined location preparatory to printing, the particular character selected depending upon the ratios of the lengths of the two respective paths traversed by the selecting element, which is in turn determined by the variable switching means, means for locking the selected type character in said position during the printing phase, and means for restoring said character to its original position during the third phase of the cycle.

4. In a printing machine of the class described, adapted to operate in a three-phase cycle upon the depression of a key, to first select and positiona type character for impression, next to print the character, and then to restore the machine to its original condition for a subsequent cycle, in combination, a character selecting and positioning mechanism comprising a rotary member carrying type in a fixed path, a cog-wheel geared to said rotary member to rotate in a constant ratio therewith, an arcuate shield disposed adjacent the periphery of said cog-wheel, an element movable along said shield and about the periphery of said cog-wheel for a definite distance. means for biasing said element toward said shield, keyboard controlled means for providing openings in said shield at selected points, and means for moving said element whereby said element follows said shield for a portion of its movement, moves through the selected opening into engagement with a tooth of said cog-wheel and continues its movement for the remainder of said distance thus engaged, to rotate the cogwheel and thus the type carrying member to dispose a selected type in impression position, the particular type so disposed depending on the distance the cog-wheel is moved, which is in turn determined by the point of selective opening of the shield. l

5. Amovable member carrying type in a fixed path, means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to a type face, a printing head on the opposite side of the paper path from the type, means for causing the printing head to press paper so supported against the type, a fixed member carrying a plurality of slidable blocks which form a substantially smooth surface, keyboard controlled means for moving one of the blocksto leave a space in said surface, a member mounted for movement over said surface and adapted to move through any space left in said surface and to continue its movement along said blocks on the opposite side of the same, means for moving said member and for biasing it toward said surface, and means comprising a cog wheel, rotatably connected with the type carrying member, so mounted that the member mounted for movement over the surface of the blocks will engage the cog wheel upon having moved through a space in the surface of the blocks, whereby the cog wheel and the type carrying member will each thereby be rotated through predetermined angles.

6. In a printing machine, in combination, a supporting frame, a movable member carrying type in a fixed path, means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to a type face, a printing device on the opposite side from the type of paper so supported for contacting said paper and moving it against said type, said printing device comprising an element slidably and pivotally mounted on said frame, and a printing head mounted on said element for limited rocking movement, said head having an arcuate paper contacting surface, means for sliding and rocking said element to bring said printing head into contact with said paper and press said surface against the paper with a rolling motion, and spring means urgingsaid head toward one of its limits of movement.

'7. In a printing machine, in combination, a supporting frame, a movable member carrying type in a fixed path, means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to a type face, a printing device on the opposite side from the type of paper so supported for contacting said paper and moving it against said type, said printing device comprising an element slidably and pivotally mounted on said frame, and a printing head mounted on said element for limited rocking movement, said head having an arcuate paper contacting surface, means for sliding and rocking said element to bring said printing head into contact with said paper and press said surface against the paper with a rolling motion, spring means urging said head toward one of its limits'of movement, and means for mounting said spring means paracentrically with respect to the rockable mounting of said head, whereby movement of said head beyond deadcenter disposes it in an inoperative position.

8. In a printing machine of the character described, a movable member for carrying type in fixed paths, a plurality of type characters carried by said member and arranged in parallel rows,

means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to the face of the type, a plurality of printing devices on the opposite side from the type of the paper so supported, therebeing one printing device for each row of type, each of said printing devices including a movable printing element and a printing head mounted on said element for limited rocking movement to contact the paper with a rolling motion, means for moving said printing elements toward the paper and type, spring means urging each of said heads toward one of its limits of movement. and means for mounting said spring means paracentrically with respect to the rockable mounting of said head, whereby movement ofany of said heads beyond dead-center will dispose them in an inoperative position, all whereby the printing devices opposite the rows of type characters not to be used may be rendered ineffective.

9. In a printing machine, in combination, a supporting frame, a movable member carrying type in a fixed path, means for supportin a paper web for movement in a path parallel to a type face, a printing device on the opposite side from the type of paper so supported for contacting said paper and moving it against said type, said printing device comprising a sleeve pivotally mounted upon said frame, a bar slidably mounted within said sleeve, and a printing head mounted on one end of said bar for limited rocking movement, said head having an arcuate paper contacting surface, spring means urging said head toward one of its limits of movement, spring means urging said sleeve and said bar toward retracted positions, cam means for projecting said bar toward said paper to bring said printing head into contact therewith, and another cam means synchronously connected with said first cam means for rocking said sleeve on its pivot to cause the arcuate paper contacting surface of said printing head to roll over the paper.

10. In a printing machine, in combination, a planar vertically disposed rotary type carrying plate, a plurality of type characters arranged in a circular series of radial rows on said plate, inking means for said type characters comprising a frusto-conical distributing roller adapted to be contacted by said characters during movement of said plate, means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to the faces of the type characters, an impression member disposed at an impression position on the opposite side of the paper path from the type characters, means for rotating said plate in its own plane with respect to said impression member and so as to position selected type characters in an impression position adjacent said impression memher, and a smudge shield intermediat the type path and the paper path and having an aperture therein at least as large as the largest type character carried by said plate, said aperture being located opposite the impression member at said impression position, whereby said paper is pressed through the aperture in the shield and against the selected type character.

11. In a printing machine ofthe class described, adapted to operate in a three-phase cycle upon the depression of a key, to first select and position a type character for impression, next to print the character, and then to restore the machine to its original condition for a subsequent cycle, in combination, a character selecting and positioning mechanism comprising a rotary member carrying type in a fixed path, keyboard controlled means for selectively rotating said type carrying member through such an angl thata desired type is placed in a predetermined position for printing during said first phase, a locking device for said member, and a single element driven throughout the cycle of operation for actuating said locking device during the entire printing phase, and at a definite point at the end of the cycle between the third phase thereof and the first phase of the next succeeding cycle, and for releasing said locking device during substantially th entire first and third phases.

12. In a printing machine of the class described, a character selection mechanism for moving a' type character into printing position,

a printing mechanism for obtaining an impression from said type character at said position, a mechanism for restoring the character selection mechanism to initial positions for subsequent operations, and means for actuating said character selection mechanism, said printing mechanism, and said restoring mechanism, comprising, in combination, a shaft, means for driving said shaft through a definite angle of rotation, three segment gears secured to the shaft, means adapted to be engaged by and actuated by one of said segment gears and operatively connected with said character selection mechanism to drive the latter, means adapted to be engaged by and actuated by the second of said segment gears and operatively connected with said printing -mechanism to drive the latter, and means adapted to be engaged by and actuated by said third segment gear and operatively connected with the mechanism for restoring the character selection mechanism for driving said restoring mechanism.

13. In a printing machine of the class described, a character selection mechanism for moving a type character into printing position,

a segment gear rotated thereby through an angle dependent upon the character selected, a printing mechanism for obtaining an impression from saidtype character at said position, a shaft,

means for driving said shaft through a definite angle of rotation, three segment gears secured to the shaft, means for operatively connecting one of said three segment gears with said character selection mechanism to drive the latter, means operatively connecting the second of said three segment gears with said printing mechanism to drive the latter, and means including said first named segment, gear for operatively connecting the thirdrof said three segment gears with the character selection mechanism for restoring the latter to its initial position.

14. In a printing machine of the class described, in combination, a movable member carrying type in a fixed path, means for supporting a paper web for movement in a path parallel to the type faces, a printing mechanism on the opposite side of the paper path from the type and adapted to press paper supported against selected ones of said type characters, a character selection mechanism comprising a fixed member carrying a plurality of slidable blocks which form a substantially smooth surface, key-board controlled means for moving one of the blocks to leave a space in said'surface, a selector member mounted for movement over said surface and adapted to move through any space left in said surface and to continue its movement along said blocks on the opposite side of the same, means biasing said selector member toward said surface, and means comprising a cog wheel, rotatably connected with the type carrying member and disposed upon the said opposite side of said blocks whereby said member. upon passing through a space in the block surface will engage the cog wheel and rotate the latter during its said continued movement, whereby said cog wheel will be rotated through a predetermined angle depending on the character selected and the block displaced, a segment gear operatively engaged with said cog wheel and rotated thereby through an angle dependent upon the character selected, a shaft, means for driving the shaft through a definite angle of rotation, three segment gears secured to the shaft, means for operatively connecting one of said three segment g'ears with said character selection mechanism for driving the latter, means operatively connecting the second of said three segment gears with said printing mechanism for driving the latter, and means including said first named segment gear for operatively connecting the third of said three segment gears with the character selection mechanism for restoring the latter to its initial position.

15. In a printing machine of the class described, adapted to operate in a three-phase cycle upon the depression of a key, to first select and position a type character for impression, next to print the charactenand then to restore the machine to its original condition for a subsequent cycle, in combination, a character selection mechanism for moving a type character into printing position, a printing mechanism for obtaining an of said transmission means being disconnected during the two phases in which its driven mechanism is not operative.

16. A printing machine according to claim 15, in which the third named transmission means includes an element which is moved proportionately to the selecting movement of the type carrying member during the first phase and is readily engaged with the driving means at the beginning of the third phase at whatever position it may have reached during its first movement, and is adapted to be restored only to its initial position by said driving means, whatever the necessary amount of movement to effect this may be.

ROSWELL S. REID. 

